Grave Digger On 24th July 1918, the gravediggers at Karori Cemetery wrote a letter to the Mayor (John-Pearce Luke) requesting the following: The following men signed the letter: H. (Henry)…
‘My Renegade Brother’
The bizarre story of the Bezar plot. ‘I shall be pleased to have your explanation as to why your Council permitted an unauthorised person – my renegade brother – to…
Bridget Wilkinson
Bridget Wilkinson nee Colgan was born approximately 1864[i] into a large Catholic family in County Offaly, Ireland. Two sisters had already emigrated to New Zealand in 1879[ii], marrying Irish farmers…
‘Distressing Mistake’
‘A distressing happening at Karori cemetery last Saturday when the bodies of two women who had died that week in the Wellington Hospital were discovered by the relatives to have…
William Haydn Flood | Musician
As his middle name suggests, William came from an enthusiastic musical family. His father, Joseph was a musician in Honiton, Devon. William followed his father and brothers in this profession…
George William MacNamara (Sam) Barford
George died in 1913 and was buried in the Church of England 2 section. On 22nd September 1916, the Town Clerk received a letter from his widow asking if the…
Margaret French aka Mrs Death
Margaret – Mrs Frued or Freude or Mrs French On 3rd December 1892, a woman arrived in Wellington at the Te Aro Hotel named Margaret. She had a note of…
Captain Butt
Richard Groombridge Butt was born on June 2, 1832, in St. Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands, to Marie (Mary) Cabot (Smith) and Richard Butt. He travelled to New Zealand, via Brisbane,…
John Alvin LeBlanc 1918-1943
John was one of many US Soldiers that found themselves on shore in New Zealand during World War 2. Between June 1942 and mid 1944 there were between 15,000 –…
‘Te Whaea o te Katoa’
Janet Munro was born on 31 January 1883 in Glasgow, to Mary McLean, a housekeeper, and William Munro, an iron foundry warehouseman. She was educated in Glasgow and became a…